Study of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ball milled Nano-SiC Reinforced Aluminium Matrix Composites

The nano-sized particle-reinforced metal matrix composites are the new potential material which could be applied in many industry fields, which possess superior strength, ductility, and wear resistance in comparison with micro-sized particle-reinforced composites. However, the fabrication methods of nanoparticles are complex and expensive. In the present research, micron size SiC particles are milled for 45-hours in wet milling arrangement of a planetary type ball mill and the milled powder has been analysed with DLS-Particle size analysis, SEM and TEM analysis. Synthesized nano-SiC particles are dispersed in an aluminium alloy by modified stir casting technique. Microstructure of the developed nanocomposites has been studied under FESEM analysis. The study of mmechanical properties reveal that the presence of nano-SiC particles has improved significantly the strength and hardness.